Predictors of International Students’ Socio-Cultural Adjustment

International students’ well-being and their adjustment have gained interest from researchers in different areas, including educational psychology, social psychology and counseling psychology. By using the social cognitive model, this study focused on finding the relationships among English fluency, social self-efficacy, cultural values, perceived social support, perceived discrimination and conflict handling styles and how they affect international students’ sociocultural adjustment. A hierarchical regression model found that international students with high social self-efficacy have less socio-cultural adaptation difficulties when they perceived low discrimination. However, when these students perceived high discrimination, they experienced higher socio-cultural adaptation difficulties. International students who valued openness to change reported lower socio-cultural adaptation difficulties. While international students’ English fluency in writing and speaking influenced their social self-efficacy, English fluency as a whole did not influence socio-cultural adaptation after factors such as perceived discrimination, social support, social self-efficacy and values were controlled. Finally, international students using dominate conflict handling style and international students using avoidance conflict handling style showed differences in their conservation value, but different conflict handling styles did not influence the relationship between English fluency and social self-efficacy. Implications are discussed. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future studies are provided

Empirical likelihood tests for stochastic ordering based on censored and biased data

In the classical two-sample comparison problem, it is often of interest to examine whether the distribution function is uniformly higher in one group than the other. This can be framed in terms of the notion of stochastic ordering. We consider testing for stochastic ordering based on two types of data: (1) right-censored and (2) size-biased data. We derive our procedures using the empirical likelihood method, and the proposed tests are based on maximally selected local empirical likelihood statistics. For (1), the proposed test is shown via a simulation study to have superior power to the commonly-used log-rank test under crossing-hazard alternatives. The approach is illustrated using data from a randomized clinical trial involving the treatment of severe alcoholic hepatitis. As for (2), simulations show that the proposed test outperforms the Wald test and the test overlooking size bias in all the cases considered. The approach is illustrated via a real data example of alcohol concentration in fatal driving accidents

Supported Zinc Oxide Photocatalyst for Decolorization and Mineralization of Orange G Dye Wastewater under UV365 Irradiation

To solve the environmental challenge of textile wastewater, a UV/ZnO photocatalytic system was proposed. The objective of this study was to prepare a photocatalytic system by utilizing both cold cathode fluorescent light (CCFL) UV irradiation and steel mesh supported ZnO nanoparticles in a closed reactor for the degradation of azo dye C.I. Orange G (OG). Various operating parameters such as reaction time, preparation temperature, mixing speed, ZnO dosage, UV intensity, pH, initial dye concentration, and service duration were studied. Results presented efficient color and total organic carbon (TOC) removal of the OG azo dye by the designed photocatalytic system. The optimal ZnO dosage for color removal was 60 g m−2. An alkaline pH of 11.0 was sufficient for photocatalytic decolorization and mineralization. The rate of color removal decreased with the increase in the initial dye concentration. However, the rate of color removal increased with the increase in the UV intensity. The steel mesh supported ZnO can be used repeatedly over 10 times without losing the color removal efficiency for 120 min reaction time. Results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ion chromatography (IC) indicated the breakage of N=N bonds and formation of sulfate, nitrate, and nitrite as the major and minor products. The observation indicated degradation of dye molecules

A Mixed-methods Study of Governance Mechanisms and Outsourcing Information System Services on Goal Performance

Background: Information systems outsourcing (ISO) is one of the critical businesses in information technology outsourcing (ITO). Due to the increasing complexity of ISO, the failure rate of such outsourcing increases. Outsourcing information system services (OISS) was thus proposed to deal with this. A conceptual framework based on the information processing view was developed to investigate how the client firms assess OISS goal performance. Governance mechanisms (governance structure, relational governance, and IT coordination) were treated as antecedents of transaction cost and outsourcing flexibility; these would further affect goal performance (goal achievement and goal exceedance) with task complexity as a moderator. Method: A mix-methods study was conducted; the qualitative approach was employed to validate the conceptual framework by interviewing three managers with experiences in OISS from the client firms, whereas the quantitative approach, with 206 responses from those with OISS experiences from the client firms, provides empirical evidence. Results: The results indicated that relational governance effectively reduced transaction cost and increased outsourcing flexibility; the governance structure was also vital for outsourcing flexibility. Transaction cost was found to negatively affect goal achievement, and outsourcing flexibility positively affected both goal achievement and goal exceedance. The moderating effects of task complexity were also confirmed. Conclusion: The results extended the information processing view to OISS and proved that transaction cost and outsourcing flexibility are necessary to link governance mechanisms and goal performance. Practically, the client firms are suggested to maintain a positive relationship with the OISS provider. The OISS provider should offer an exclusive channel during and after the execution of the OISS project to reduce the possible cost that occurs during the implementation and improve the outsourcing flexibility to allow the client firms to consider their goals have been achieved and beyond their expectations. By doing so, the effect of goal performance can be maximized

The metabolomics of psoriatic disease.

Metabolomics is an emerging new "omics" field involving the systematic analysis of the metabolites in a biologic system. These metabolites provide a molecular snapshot of cellular activity and are thus important for understanding the functional changes in metabolic pathways that drive disease. Recently, metabolomics has been used to study the local and systemic metabolic changes in psoriasis and its cardiometabolic comorbidities. Such studies have revealed novel insights into disease pathogenesis and suggest new biochemical signatures that may be used as a marker of psoriatic disease. This review will discuss common strategies in metabolomics analysis, current findings in the metabolomics of psoriasis, and emerging trends in psoriatic metabolomics

Exchange listing changes: volatility and liquidity effects in Taiwan

We examine the volatility, liquidity and returns effects on stocks that switch exchange listings from the ROSE to the TSE in Taiwan from 1992 to 2000. Switching Jims earn statistically positive returns before the transfer day and earn statistically negative returns after that day. We find evidence of improved liquidity, ownership dispersion and actual trading volume for such firms. The relative volatility of trading volume, compared against the firms ' own histories, and volatility of return also increase after a listing change. We show that increased trading volume and liquidity are associated with the abnormal returns around the transfer date. We find no evidence that the past earnings of firms significantly affect the abnormal returns realized in the post-listing period

DESIGNING A SERVICE PORTFOLIO FOR A TAIWANESE HOSPITAL TELECARE CENTER

National Ministry of Health and Welfare defined Tele health care (Telecare) as a combination of medical care, ICT technology, electronic medical equipment, and other cross-cutting professional to allow people to get the health care and preventive health services in the community and familiar home environment and aging in place. To date, telecare has become the world medical technology and services industry trend. However, most elderly are significantly less familiar with technology use than the general population, inhibiting telecare adoption. Based on service portfolio concept, we design core and supplementary service elements for a Taiwanese telecare center. To further examine how patients perceive the values of these service elements in different adoption stages, we conduct surveys with potential clients and current patients of the telecare center. We take customers adoption process as an indicator of “value creation” and examine how the values of service elements vary across different adoption stages. Meanwhile, service quality and productivity should be properly integrated since quality focuses on the benefits created for the customer’s side of the equation, but productivity addresses the financial costs incurred by the hospital. If not properly integrated, these two foci can be in conflict. Thus, our service portfolio will consider not only the value of the services but also the available management resources to run the services. The results suggest approaches to re-allocating the limited resource to the most valuable service elements perceived by customers, and thus help hospitals to drive potential clients, sustain current patients, and maintain service quality of the hospital simultaneously

Drivers of eHealth Adoption: Linking eHealth Adoption to Service Concept

Researchers and practitioners are keenly interested in understanding what drives eHealth adoption in recent years. This is largely because, while eHealth can lead to cost-effective and quality health care, the actual adoption rate of eHealth remains low across countries. In prior literature, it was clearly indicated that well-designed eHealth services are critical to eHealth adoption. In this study, our findings further show that, what may motivate patients’ adoption is more strongly associated with the design of eHealth caring service, and the design of eHealth IT service is more likely to be associated with patients’ continual use